


apologies, want some grilled cheese?

by Cheeky_The_Monkey



Series: out-of-time bros [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Episode Tag, Mentions the War, more bonding!, out-of-time bros, set post-7x07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25245253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheeky_The_Monkey/pseuds/Cheeky_The_Monkey
Summary: After returning to the Zephyr, Deke seeks out Sousa to apologize since he left on bad terms. What he doesn't expect is to be talking about old scars.But they can still be buddies, right?
Relationships: Daniel Sousa & Deke Shaw
Series: out-of-time bros [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797439
Comments: 4
Kudos: 63





	apologies, want some grilled cheese?

**Author's Note:**

> set post 7x07

It was a relief to be back on the Zephyr, that was for sure. Despite the awesome, superstar life Deke made for himself in 1983, the lack of “modern” technology had been starting to get very annoying.

At least he’d gotten to spend some quality time with Mack. He now knew for sure that the director respected him even that tiny bit more than he used to, and that alone was more praise than Deke could have ever asked for.

Okay, that’s a lie. He could have asked for so much more respect, but he’s getting there. Slowly.

One thing he found interesting was how concerned his teammates were at how they’d been stranded in 1982. They’d bombarded them with questions- like where they’d stayed, how they earned money, if their diet changed, if they’d made friends, whether their mental health suffered in their time away. It was thoughtful of them to be so concerned, even if they’d only been stranded in the past for just less than a year.

It wasn’t like they’d been permanently stranded in the past. No, _that_ would suck. Just one ‘how are you feeling, Deke?’ would have made all the difference back then. But hey, he was used to it now. And plus, looking back he saw that he was very tetchy and difficult to work with when he’d first come to their time all that time ago. 

Which is what reminded him of Agent Sousa.

Truth be told, he’d almost forgotten about Sousa. He’d been half-expecting him to have left before the others came to pick them up but there he was, sitting as he watched over Daisy almost exactly how he’d last seen him. How much time had actually passed for those guys?

“Hey.” He said, walking toward him.

Sousa barely acknowledged him. “Hi.”

Deke fumbled with his words for a moment. He’d come to apologize since he was pretty sure he needed to from what he remembered, but he wasn’t sure exactly how to go about it.

“I think we broke off on pretty bad terms back then,” he said jovially. “So I guess I came to say sorry. People tell me I get super defensive about stuff and yeah... I'm sorry. You had a right to be angry.”

Sousa sighed and finally looked up to face him. His eyes were dark, his hair was tousled, and god the man just looked _tired._

“No, I’m sorry.” He admitted, looking into his eyes in a way that made Deke feel slightly intimidated. Was it a chief thing? “I should have trusted you guys knew what you were doing and uh, yeah-” he waved vaguely in his direction- “I’m sorry that you and the director got stuck in the future.”

“The past, for us.” Deke corrected, before closing the distance between them and putting a hesitant hand on Sousa’s shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. “But that wasn’t your fault. Neither was what happened to Daisy, so don’t beat yourself up about it.”

The uncertainty on Sousa’s face from Deke’s sudden physical contact turned into surprise. 

Deke didn’t need this explaining. He might not be an empath like May, but he knew when his friends needed him. And Daniel Sousa might not be his friend (yet), but he knew survivor’s guilt when he saw it.

“I know how you feel.” He told him. “But she’s super strong and you don’t need to worry. She’s been through worse.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Daniel said, turning his head to look back down at her body in concern.

Deke pulled his hand away from Sousa and nodded down at his leg. “I bet you have too.”

But the second the words came out of his mouth he wished he could take them back. Sometimes (most of the time) he said things without thinking, and he knew that injuries, permanent or not, were no joke. He was about to apologize (again) before he realized that Sousa was laughing.

He decided to apologize just in case, but it came out sounding more like a question. “I’m sorry?”

Daniel composed himself and his face fell slightly. “Everyone has their own traumas.” He said. “It’s just that... I’m surprised that people from your time still talk about war injuries like they’re either sacred or taboo or something. I guess some things never changed.”

Oh. Oh god. _The war._ Daniel Sousa had fought in the war. Everything Deke knew about the wars was mostly stuff passed down by word-of-mouth when he was young, and they turned into something of a horrible legend back in the future. Often some of the elders would compare their situation to what the wars would have been like, all blood and death and guns and injustice. Countless soldiers fighting to save their families. Suddenly he felt very, very bad for what he’d said.

And he also suddenly had the urge to roll up his right hoodie sleeve.

Sousa looked at him questioningly before slowly turning his gaze to the circular scar on Deke’s wrist.

“What is that?”

Deke kept his eyes on Daniel. He didn’t like looking at it himself, though it wasn't a missing leg. 

“It’s what humans are marked with in the future that I came from.” He explained in a low voice. “Now I don’t really know what the wars were like, but I do know that they were nothing like what I grew up with. But…”

He paused. Sousa looked like he had so many questions but was obediently keeping quiet.

“...I know what it feels like. Once something like that stops suddenly and you’re expected to carry on living like it never happened. The others are guilty of that. Oh, thanks for your service, by the way.” Deke was pretty sure that was what you’re supposed to say to soldiers, right?

Daniel seemed speechless, but Deke was done talking.

“I, um… you’ve gotta tell me about your future sometime.”

Deke let out a breath knowing that he hadn’t been offended by what he’d said. “Sure, as long as you tell me what your past was like.”

Sousa smiled. “Deal.”

 _Crisis averted,_ thought Deke as he grinned in relief. 

“Hey uh, do you want something to eat? I can go grab you something.”

Daniel shook his head. “I’m alright. Just gonna stay here for a while.”

That was a bit self-righteous, even for Deke’s standards. 

“Are you sure? It’s only lunch. Look, I love Daisy as much as the next guy… okay, scratch that, but-” Sousa raised an eyebrow- “she’ll still be here when you get back.”

The other man seemed to think for a moment before he sighed. “You’re a sweet-talker, Deke. I used to hate guys like you and I had a bunch of them working for me. But I’m not gonna lie… I miss them. It’s refreshing to have you around and I..." he scoffed at his own words "...I'm glad you're back safe."

He was interrupted by his stomach letting out a loud grumble. He blushed. “...And I might be a little hungry. I’ll take you up on that lunch offer, but I'm coming too.”

“Great!” Deke exclaimed, ecstatic from the compliment(?), and he had to resist the urge to clap his hands together happily. “Have you ever tried grilled cheese? I don’t know if it was around back then, it wasn’t around _forward then_ I’ll tell you that, but I have been eating it non stop recently. Oh, with salad! A lot of people hate on salad but that’s their bad because it’s ‘delicious and nutritious’ as people say. Did you-”

As Daniel stood up, he couldn’t help but groan. Maybe he didn’t miss those fast-talking folks after all. But Deke had heart, and he was grateful for that.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments make my day! :D


End file.
